The One
by Phantom of a Rose
Summary: Kurt hates it at Dalton. It's his cage. Could it just be Blaine's as well? Klaine. Backstreet Boys songs for the win!


**I heard the song in this story the other day and couldn't get over how perfect it was for Klaine! So here I am, writing a fan fiction for it. There is also a scene from Muchacha10's art in here. It's called "Klaine: Freedom"**

**Hope you enjoy!**

**GLEE**

Blaine felt like he was a lost puppy. A little Chihuahua, shaking and yelping after its master. In this case, his master was Kurt, and it wasn't so much of a following thing, as it was a killer crush.

The thing was, Blaine had told himself that Kurt needed a friend more than he needed a boyfriend. He needed someone to talk to about the things he was going through that could really understand, uncomplicated by dating.

That and, despite what many people assumed about him, he had very little experience in the dating area. He had been bullied mercilessly at his old school and had been one of the only gay guys there. The others didn't want to get involved with him, because they didn't want to be outed, too.

He had gotten a kiss once, at a summer camp two years ago, but that was the other guy who initiated it. He was super confident and very handsome. Of course, Blaine had never heard from him after that summer.

So even though he would love to jump at the chance to ask Kurt out and just kiss him senseless, he was nervous. He was nervous of ruining a friendship and nervous because he had never done anything like that before.

"Blaine, can you please just distract me?"

Blaine's head jerked up quickly. Kurt was frowning at him, his elbow resting on the table and his chin resting on his palm. "What?" said Blaine. Oh, real articulate.

"I don't want to study," said Kurt with a sigh. "And you're always up to distract me from my homework, so this time I'm actually giving you permission."

Blaine frowned. He didn't like the way Kurt had been acting lately. He didn't seem like himself at all. He was quiet, for one, even when it was just the two of them alone. He seemed really sad. Blaine had put it off as the returning to school after winter break blues, but that was almost a month ago.

He forced a smile on his face and shut his book. "Come with me," he said. Kurt and Blaine gathered their things from the study table and walked back to the dorms. Blaine noticed that Kurt was dragging his feet. He opened the door to his dorm and let Kurt pass him.

Kurt threw his bag on the ground near Blaine's desk, then he sat on Blaine's bed. Blaine's roommate, Daniel, was never in the room. He sometimes slept here, but other times would just go to his girlfriends' house.

"Movie?" asked Blaine. Kurt shrugged. Blaine turned to hide his frown and picked a DVD from his huge collection of movies. He decided that "Aladdin" would be a good choice. The Genie was hilarious and if that didn't cheer Kurt up, nothing could.

Blaine settled in next to Kurt on the bed and started the movie. Even though Blaine had probably seen this movie a hundred times, he laughed at every joke and sang under his breath to the songs. They were about thirty minutes into the movie when Blaine looked over at Kurt.

Kurt was playing with the frays on a blanket on Blaine's bed. He wasn't even watching the movie. Robin Williams was making hilarious voices and he wasn't even cracking a smile.

Blaine grabbed the remote and paused the movie. Kurt didn't seem to notice. "Kurt," said Blaine softly, putting a hand on his arm. Kurt jerked and looked up at Blaine, wide eyes.

"Oh, is the movie over?" said Kurt.

"No," said Blaine, more than a little worried. "We still have a while but…but Kurt, what's the matter?"

Kurt frowned at Blaine. "What do you mean?"

"Kurt," said Blaine slowly, trying to think of what he was going to say carefully. "I've been noticing you've been acting differently. You just seem so…down." Blaine struggled to express what he was saying. "Something is wrong and it's really scaring me."

Kurt's face fell. He looked away from Blaine. "I'm sorry, Blaine, I just…" He paused. Blaine's heart jumped when he saw that Kurt's eyes were filling with tears.

"Kurt," whispered Blaine, grabbing his pale hands. Even thought Blaine had seen Kurt cry a handful of times, in fact, the first day they met, he hated it more than he could express. When he had been sitting across from him on that first day over coffee, and the small tears started falling down his face, Blaine had the strangest urge to lean over and wipe them away.

He hadn't, of course, they had just met.

Kurt sniffled and stared at their hands. "I just hate it here," said Kurt. "I want to go home." Kurt sounded like a small child.

Blaine's heart dropped. Kurt…hated it here? He wanted to leave? Blaine slowly wrapped his head around this confession. That meant he wouldn't get to see Kurt everyday.

"Oh," said Blaine. He wasn't sure what do say. "What do you mean?" He asked, searching for the right words. Should he try to support this choice? Should he try to convince him to stay? Would that be selfish?

"I don't feel welcomed," said Kurt in a small voice. "Sure, there isn't a bullying problem, but none of the guys here really want to be my friend. They don't laugh at my jokes or understand half the things I say. You're my only friend here, Blaine," said Kurt quietly. Blaine squeezed his hand.

"I feel so….caged." Kurt frowned. Blaine knew he was thinking about Pavarotti, caged in his dorm. "And the Glee club is just so…" Kurt grimaced. "It's so formal. And stiff and not the family I came from before. I didn't even realize how happy I was there. I didn't appreciate it." Tears were falling from Kurt's face and onto their hands. Blaine didn't move as the warm water touched his skin.

"I miss them, Blaine," whispered Kurt. "And I don't care if a bully is going to push me into lockers. I just want to be with them again." Kurt ripped one of his hands out of Blaine's and fiercely wiped his face. "And I miss my own clothes, dammit!"

A small chuckle came out of Blaine's mouth, but it didn't have much life to it. Blaine looked Kurt in the eye. "Does that mean you're leaving Dalton?" he said quietly. Kurt stared back at him with watery eyes. He didn't answer. Instead he leaned forward, falling into Blaine's chest. Blaine wrapped his arms tightly around the petite boy and rested his chin on his head.

He knew what the answer was. Kurt was crying into his chest, clutching at his uniform and apologizing. Blaine just held him. He wasn't sure when his own tears started. He didn't want Kurt to leave him. He wanted to get up the courage to ask Kurt out. He wanted to give Kurt a real first kiss. He wanted them to be able to walk through the halls of Dalton, hand and hand, sneaking kisses between classes and all the things that regular couples could do.

They wouldn't do that if Kurt was at McKinley.

Blaine cursed his selfishness. He was being a big baby. Kurt was miserable and if he wanted to do something that made him happy, then Blaine should be the friend that he was and support that. So Blaine let a few more tears fall and then forced them back. He tried to wipe them off as quietly as possible. He told Kurt that if this was what he wanted, he would support him. They would still hang out, just on the weekends.

Kurt dislodged himself from Blaine's chest. His face was red from crying. "I'm really sorry, Blaine."

"Don't be sorry, kid," said Blaine, his voice thick. "I want you to be happy." A small smile crossed Kurt's face. "That's the ticket," said Blaine.

Kurt calmed down some more and then called his dad, explaining everything. Burt asked if he was completely sure. There wouldn't be a way of returning to Dalton again. Kurt firmly said that he was sure. Blaine smiled and held his hand has his dad made arrangements to come get him. It wasn't Kurt's fault that these arrangements broke Blaine's heart and all his plans.

But Blaine perked up. He dragged Kurt out of Blaine's dorm. It was late. Most people were in their own dorms. Blaine took Kurt to his own dorm. Once Kurt had unlocked the door, Blaine barged in and grabbed Pavarotti's cage. Then Blaine grabbed Kurt's hand and they went outside.

"What are you doing?" asked Kurt.

"Remember in Aladdin, how Jasmine lets all the birds free?" asked Blaine. "I mean, I guess you weren't paying attention this time…"

"No, I remember," said Kurt. He looked down at Pavarotti and his eyes widened. "Do you mean?"

Blaine grinned. "You don't have to be caged anymore, Kurt." It hurt Blaine to say this, but it was true. Kurt wasn't made for this cage. "And I bet that Pavarotti would love to see what else is out there."

Kurt slowly walked up to stand beside Blaine. They both took hold of the cage. "Bye Pavarotti," whispered Kurt. Then he opened the door to the cage. The yellow bird flew out faster than Kurt thought possible, sailing toward the sky quickly. Kurt found himself smiling, really smiling, for the first time in a while.

"You're free," said Blaine quietly, trying to tell himself that this was a good thing.

….

Kurt called Blaine to tell him of his first day back at McKinley.

"It wasn't horrible," said Kurt in a small voice. "Karofsky mostly avoids me now. He saw me in the hall and walked in the opposite direction. The other jocks teased me, but that I can handle. It's not as bad as the mind games Karofsky does."

"That's good," said Blaine.

"It's worth it, too. I almost cried when I went to Glee practice today. They had a cake for me and everything. And Mercedes actually did cry. I don't think she stopped hugging me for, like, 10 minutes."

Blaine laughed, he tried to make it genuine. "That sounds like her. I'm sure she's glad to have her best friend back."

"I'm glad to have her back," said Kurt softly.

"And I'm glad that your first day back was good," said Blaine. "I hope it continues like this."

"Same here."

And it did. Kurt's week was fine. Karofsky ignored him and the other bullies didn't single him out any more than any other glee member. Kurt was back with his friends and happier than he was in weeks. Blaine could tell over the phone.

Blaine, however, was miserable. His days were dragging, because he would look forward to Kurt's call at night more than anything. Warbler practice seemed more dull than it usually did. Kurt was right; was always right. The Warblers were uptight and boring compared to what Kurt had describe New Directions' practices. With Kurt here the pass few months, they had been exciting for Blaine. They would goof off as much as possible until David or Wes told them to stop.

Blaine was moping. He knew it. He missed his friend. He wanted to be with him all day and was having withdraws.

It was Saturday when Blaine decided to do the drastic. He and Kurt had been throwing the idea around of Kurt coming back up to hang out with Blaine, or Blaine coming to Lima. Neither would happen. Kurt had been kidnapped by his Glee club for a night of bowling and a sleepover. Kurt had invited Blaine, but he didn't feel it was his place.

So Saturday night, at 11:24, Blaine was lying on his stomach on the ground of his dorm, bored out of his mind. He hadn't moved for over an hour. Usually, he and Kurt would do all sorts of things on the weekends. Stay in, or sometimes out.

That was when Blaine decided that he didn't like being caged, either.

….

Blaine nervously walked into McKinley high school, looking around at the brightly colored walls and lockers. Dalton was very neutral on colors, since it was so old. This reminded him of his old high school. That wasn't an appealing idea. But Blaine continued on to the office to get his class schedule and locker assignment.

When in the office, he straightened his bowtie five times. He was so nervous. Starting a new school was always nerve racking, but there were so many other things to be nervous about.

There was seeing Kurt again. He hadn't told him that he was changing to McKinley. Who knew how Kurt would take it. Would he be happy? Would he be disappointed? Maybe he wanted to get away from Blaine, too, not just Dalton.

Then there was his clothes. It seemed like a small thing, right? But Blaine hadn't had to put real thought into an outfit for over a year. He left the Dalton uniform up to all that. He wasn't sure what his style was…he had dug through his closet and came up with black skinny jeans, a black collared shirt with a pink bowtie and skinny green suspenders. He liked it enough. He was sure Kurt would be the judge if he passed this fashion test, though.

Blaine got his schedule and went off to his first class. Then his second. It wasn't so bad. The teachers didn't really make a fuss over him. He even got a few appreciative looks from some girls in his second class. That had to be a good thing, even though Blaine couldn't care less.

He was on his way to his third hour when he ran into Mercedes. At first, she didn't recognize him. His regular clothes and the fact that he had ditched the slicked back, private school hair for his natural curls probably had something to do with it.

"What the hell?" said Mercedes. "What are you doing here?"

"Hi, Mercedes," said Blaine nervously. "I transferred."

Mercedes stared at him for a long moment, pursing her lips. Then she nodded. "You must really like Kurt. Does he know?"

Blaine blushed. "No, he doesn't. It's a surprise."

"Oh, it will be a surprise alright." She winked. "See you at lunch." Then she walked down the hall.

Now Blaine was at lunch and looking for Kurt with eagle eyes. He was slowly walking over to the lunch line when he spotted him. He and Mercedes and a few other kids were sitting at a table on the other side of the cafeteria. Blaine grinned. Kurt was smiling and laughing with Mercedes. He was never like that at lunch at Dalton. It was great to see him smile.

Blaine skipped the lunch line and instead made a beeline for the table. Thankfully, Kurt couldn't see him walking over. He came up behind him, Mercedes saw him and smiled. The other kids at the table, an Asian couple and the girl that had been talking with Kurt at Sectionals, looked up confused.

Kurt was talking about something and moving his arms around wildly. When he realized his friends were listening anymore, he stopped and asked them what they were staring at. Then Blaine poked him on the shoulder. Kurt jumped and turned in his chair. Blaine smiled down at the other boy.

"Hi, Kurt," said Blaine shyly.

"Oh my god!" exclaimed Kurt, jumping form his chair. Blaine was suddenly attacked in a hug. "Oh my god!" repeated Kurt. Blaine was laughing. It was safe to say that Kurt was happy to see him, then.

"Hi there," said Blaine.

"What are you doing here?" asked Kurt, pulling away from the hug, but keeping his hands on Blaine's arms.

"I go here," said Blaine, grinning. Kurt's mouth opened wide. "Can I sit?" Kurt nodded and Blaine pulled up a chair between Kurt and the girl from Sectionals. Blaine noticed that they were getting stares.

"I can't believe it," said Kurt. "Why?"

Blaine frowned. "I missed you."

"Aww," said the other girl at the table, a pretty Asian girl.

"And I didn't like the cage any more than you did," said Blaine slowly. "I only went to Dalton to get away from the bullies. I was alone, back then. Like you were here. Sorta. But I thought that maybe coming here with you…I wouldn't be alone, at least."

Kurt's grin was huge. "Of course not! I'm just so happy you're here. I can't tell you how much I've missed you!" Blaine grinned. If it was half as much as he missed Kurt… "Let me introduce you!" said Kurt. "You know Mercedes. This is Tina and Mike." Kurt pointed at the Asian couple. "And this is Rachel."

Rachel was frowning at him. "How do we know you're not going to transfer back to Dalton right before Regionals and break Kurt's heart?" she asked suddenly.

Well, that was oddly specific.

"I'm…not?" said Blaine slowly. "For one, I wouldn't, and secondly, you can't transfer back to Dalton after transferring out. It's sorta, stay or go."

"He's right, Rachel," said Kurt, frowning at the small girl. "Blaine is here to stay. He can't go back to Dalton. It's not a Jesse situation, sorry."

Rachel frowned, but didn't say anything. Mercedes asked if he would be joining New Directions.

"If it's ok with you," said Blaine, smiling at Kurt.

"Oh please, New Directions will flip when they find out that you're gonna join," said Kurt.

"It's true," said Tina. "You were fantastic at Sectionals."

Blaine grinned and thanked the girl. Her boyfriend, Mike, shrugged and said, "Your dancing needs work though."

…..

Blaine was dragged into Glee practice that afternoon. The other members of the club were wary of him, as Rachel had been. Mr. Shue frowned at him for a long moment, but then reminded them all that they accepted all people who came to audition.

"And that worked so well with the Jesse kid," said Puck, rolling his eyes.

"He's not Jesse, Puck," said Kurt, frowning.

"He's much cuter," said Santana, her eyes looking Blaine up and down appreciatively. Blaine's eyebrows rose quickly and Kurt's head snapped toward the Cheerio, his mouth falling open.

"Oh don't look so surprised," said Santana suggestively. "I know you just came from an all boys school and probably haven't gotten much action for a while, but I can help you there."

Blaine chuckled nervously, putting his hands through his hair. Santana raised an eyebrow at him, a smirk on her face. "Sorry, uh, you are?"

"Santana Lopez," she said proudly. "Your greatest adventure."

Blaine laughed again and then shrugged. "Well you see, Santana, the all boys school was perfect for me, if you know what I mean." He winked at her suggestively. He hoped Kurt wouldn't take this too seriously. He hadn't actually hooked up with anyone while there, but being with only guys was great for someone like him. "Lots of a good eye candy."

This time, Santana's mouth dropped open in surprise. Brittany put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Oh burn," said Mike, laughing and high fiving Finn.

Santana pouted. "I'm still open if you change your mind."

"I don't think so," shrugged Blaine, as politely as he could. Santana shrugged as well.

"Ok let's stop this," said Mr. Shue, signing. "Blaine, I know we've seen you perform at Sectionals, but we do have an audition for new members. Do you have something prepared?"

Blaine's mind automatically went to _that place_. Oh no. He had been thinking about this song for weeks. He had even practiced it. In the shower, nothing really formal, but it could work…

It was, of course, something he always wanted to sing to Kurt. It was almost better than "Teenage Dream" in that aspect. When he had heard it on his ipod last month (no shame in his music choice) the lyrics had just screamed perfection.

"Yes," said Blaine quickly, before he chickened out. "I do have something I've been thinking about for a while."

"Do you have sheet music?" asked Mr. Shue.

Blaine was almost embarrassed to admit that he did. He had thought about learning it on the piano himself. He pulled it out of his bag and handed it to the guy at the piano. Mr. Shue sat down with the other students. Blaine cleared his throat.

"I'm pretty sure you'll know the song," said Blaine, getting a little nervous. "If you do, I hope it's ok to ask you to back me up a bit." Mr. Shue nodded, a reassuring smile on his face.

The piano player tapped out two quick notes on the piano and Blaine sang the first lyric in a soft voice. "_I'll be the one_." His voice carrying the note.

He saw he girls of the Glee club sigh with smiles on their faces. Others sort of jumped up and down a bit. Even a few guys got a nostalgic look on their face.

Blaine smiled, his nervous evaporating as the piano played. He tried his best at dancing. Just a few steps. When he started to really sing the song, however, he found his eyes going to Kurt's. "_Oh, I guess you were lost when I met you. Still there were tears in your eyes._"

Blaine tried to show with his eyes that this was meant for Kurt. He had done it before, with the "Teenage Dream" performance. Blaine was pretty good with the eye flirting thing. It was the actually talking and asking out he was lousy at.

"_So out of trust and I knew, no more than mysteries and lies_." Blaine was happy that Tina's voice joined in to harmonize with him at the next lyric, Brittany and even Santana joining right after her. "_There you are, wild and free. Reachin' out like you needed me. A helping hand to make it right_." Blaine reached out his hand toward Kurt. Kurt blushed and bit his lip. Blaine loved it when Kurt got flustered at attention. It was too cute. "_I am holding you all through the night_," sang Blaine, grooving into the song with his shoulders and hips, trying to make it a little suggestive.

If the blush from Kurt and hoots from Santana where anything to go by, it had succeeded.

Blaine just grinned and spun into the chorus. "_I'll be the one." _The girls echoed him. Mike even grabbed Tina's hand and lifted her from her chair, spinning her. Blaine grinned. Stuff like that, getting out of your seat during another person's solo, never happened with the Warblers.

"_Who will make all your sorrows undone. I'll be the light_," sang Blaine, once again, the girls echoing in harmony. "_When you feel like there's nowhere to run_

_I'll be the one_."

Blaine softened his voice for the next part. "To _hold you and make sure that you'll be alright. 'Cause my faith is gone and I want to take you from darkness to light._" Blaine decided that it would be appropriate to point at Kurt and wink. It was very boy band of him.

"_There you are, wild and free, reachin' out like you needed me._" Brittany and Santana joined Mike and Tina up near Blaine. Blaine grabbed the blonde Cheerio's hand and twirled her around. "_A helping hand to make it right I am holding you all through the night." _

Blaine repeated the chorus. He was glad that pretty much the whole group was echoing him now and if they weren't out of their chairs dancing, there were at least moving and singing to people next to them. Kurt was looking at little embarrassed, but Blaine could tell that he was flattered, too.

Blaine decided that if he was going to serenade Kurt with this song, he was going to go all out. And that's how he found himself on his knees in front of Kurt's chair. He reached out and grabbed his hand. "_I'll be the one, to hold you, and make sure that you'll be alright."_

Blaine stood and dropped Kurt's hand, grinning. His stomach was swirling with nerves, but this just might be worth it. He continued to sing, the others providing background vocals and sounds. "_You need me like I need you. We can share our dreams comin' true. I can show you what true love means_." Blaine smiled and held out his hand to Kurt, who was still sitting. "_Just take me hand, baby please…"_

Kurt stared at Blaine's outstretched hand for about a second before grabbing it with a smile. Blaine grinned and pulled Kurt of his chair.

"_I'll be the one, I'll be the light where you can run to make it alright." _The whole group was singing this part, but Blaine only had eyes for Kurt. "_I'll be the one, I'll be the light where you can run."_

Blaine spun Kurt around as the chorus started once more. Kurt giggled and came back to him, locked in a ballroom dance stance with Blaine. They danced through the group of other members of the club as Blaine sang.

"_I'll be the one, I'll be the light where you can run to make it alright." _Blaine repeated this lyric once more, stopping their dance. He separated from Kurt, grinning, still holding one of his hands.

"_I'll be the one to hold you, and make sure that you'll be alright." _Blaine took a deep breath. "_I'll be the one." _Blaine held out the note as long as he could, cutting off suddenly.

Kurt's grin was huge. New Directions was clapping at their performance and laughing together. Things like this were always fun for them, when they could let loose and have a silly time.

Kurt stepped in close to Blaine. "I'm putting the fact that you moved schools to follow me," said Kurt quickly. "And this song together and wondering if…" He bit his lip. "If you, you know, like me?"

Blaine just chuckled. "Yeah. You see, Kurt, I'm not that good at saying what I feel most of the time. I usually find songs that do that for me."

"Hence Teenage Dream. And this," said Kurt.

"Yes," said Blaine, chuckling. "But the lyrics mean what they mean," he said, trying to hint to Kurt what he meant.

"Oh mi dios," said Santana. "Just kiss him already." A few of the members laughed. Even Mr. Shue was sitting back, letting this unfold.

"Well, if you insist," said Blaine. He placed his hand on the side of Kurt's face. Kurt's eyes widen, but he smiled. He was actually the one to lean in. Blaine was glad for that. With his other kisses, Kurt didn't have a choice, with this one, he would.

Their lips met in a soft embrace. Simple and short. In that short moment, however, they were the only ones in the room. It was everything that Blaine had imagined it would be. Kurt's lips were perfect.

"Finally," whispered Kurt as they parted. Blaine laughed.

"Well," said Mr. Shue, clearing his throat. "It's safe to say that you're an official member of New Directions, Blaine."

Blaine grinned up at Mr. Shue. "Thanks," he said. "Glad to be here." He looked at Kurt and squeezed his hand. "So glad."

**FIN**

**Please review! **


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